Due to recent advances in technology, computer users are now able to enjoy many features that provide an improved user experience, such as playing various media and multimedia content on their personal or laptop computers. For example, most computers today run media player applications able to play compact discs (CDs). This allows users to listen to their favorite musical artists while working on their computers. Many computers are also equipped with digital versatile disc (DVD) drives enabling users to watch movies.
A typical media player application provides a user interface (UI) that allows the user to interact with the application. In general, user interfaces provide controls or buttons that the user engages to cause a predetermined result. A software application such as a media player may have several buttons that permit the user to play, pause, fast-forward, reverse, and control the volume of a particular piece of media being rendered by the player. In the past, UIs have been generally fixed insofar as their layout and functionality are concerned. One primary reason for this stems from the desire to impart standardization to various UIs. Yet, against the backdrop of standardized UIs, there is a desire to impart UIs with a more user friendly, aesthetically pleasing look and improved functionality.
One known technique for changing the look of a media player UI involves providing a “skin” that serves as the visual portion of the UI, that is, the portion that the user sees when they interact with an application.
As users become more familiar with advanced features on their computers, such as those mentioned above, their expectations for various additional innovative features will undoubtedly continue to grow. For example, consider a media player software application that enables a user to play a CD on his or her computer. Typical applications allow the user to display track information associated with the CD by clicking on the appropriate UI. Such track information usually includes track numbers, song titles, playing times, and the like. Notwithstanding these advances, the user will continue to desire further advancements in delivering content-related information to improve the experience.
Accordingly, this invention arose out of concerns for providing improved systems and methods for processing media content that provide an improved, rich, and robust user experience.